Amarilla was appointed the Administrator of her husband George A. Barclay’s estate back in December 1898. George did not have a will and Amarilla and Grace were his only heirs. The estate is on file at the Minnesota Historical Society under Cass County Government. As you can see, Amarilla’s name was spelled as “Ammarilla and even spelled “Ammerilla.”

1. #1065 – Order to Examine Accounts at Walker on August 15, 1899 at 10 a.m. in the Probate office, Cass County, Minnesota.

2. #1065 – Final Decree August 15, 1899 document.

The final decree included Amarilla Barclay and Grace McDonald to receive the land and general merchandise of great grandfather’s estate.

That the said deceased died intestate, and the residue of said estate consists of the following described Real and Personal estate, to-wit:

A ______of general merchandise at Pine River, Mnn. fixtures, furniture and household goods. Notices?, mortgages, open accounts and cash on deposit at First National Bank of Brainerd $655.15 and other miscellaneous articles and personal property.

that the following named persons are entitled to said estate by law Ammarilla Barclay and Grace A. McDonald. …That said Ammarilla Barclay 1/3 there of an to said Grace A. McDonald 2/3 thereof; and all and irregular of the Real estate and the same in hereby assigned and vested in the said Ammerilla Barclay and Grace McDonald…

the following to-wit: N2 NW 1/4 Sec 6 – 137 -29, the Homestead, to said Ammarilla Barclay during the time of her natural life remainder to Grace McDonald in fee simple, all other land to Ammarilla Barclay an undivided 1/3 interest in fee simple and to Grace A. McDonald an undivided 2/3 interest in fee simple. …McGary Judge of Probate

Seven days later on 22 August, 1899 a deed was registered with the Cass County Register of Deeds, Cass County Courthouse, where Grace sold back to Amarilla some land for $1.00.

This indenture made this 22 August 1899 between Grace A. McDonald and Ronald S. McDonald her husband, parties of the first part to Ammarilla Barclay of the county and State of Minnesota, for one dollar to them in hand…page 98, Deed K. 1899.

The north half of the northwest quarter (N1/2 of NW 4) and the southeast quarter of the Northwest quarter (NE4 and NW4) of Section Six (6) township 137, range twenty nine (29), also lot seven (7) and the southeast quarter of the southwest quaret (SE 4 of SW $) of Section thirty one (31) township one hundred and thirty-eight (138) Range twenty nine (29) togher with all the personal property of whatever nature the land may be now situated and being of said piece or parcels of land for any of said pieces or parcels. Signed by Grace A. McDonald and R.S. McDonald in the presence of A. Picket and Sarah A. Blinn.

County of Cass, 22nd day of August 1897 before me Notary Public – Grace A. McDonald formerly Grace A. Barclay and R.S. McDonald, husb. – free act and deed. J.G. Dawis, Notary Public. Signed by Grace A. McDonald and R.S. McDonald. Witnesses by a A. Picket and Sarah A. Blinn.

Very interesting that a J.G. Dawis signs as a notary public, could this be J.G. Dawes?

Another deed appears on the 26th of November, 1899 were Grace and Ronald McDonald sell more land back to Amarilla, Page. 414, Deed P for $2000 dollars.

Portion of deed – Grace to Amarilla November 1899 Land

The North half of the North West quarter (N1/2 NW1/4) and the South East quarter of the North West quarter (SE1/4 NW1/4) of section Six (6) Township one hundred and thirty (137) Range Twenty nine (29). Also Lot seven (7) and the South East quarter of the South West quarter (SE1/4 SW1/4), of Section Thirty one (31) Township one hundred and thirty eight (1380 Range Twenty nine (29.). This was signed by Grace A. McDonald and R.S. McDonald and witnesses also by A. Pickett and Sarah A. Blinn.

Grace and Amarilla were now in control of George’s estate and with the Final Decree it was now all in their hands to manage as they pleased. In about a year to two Grace and Ronald would leave Pine River for Grand Rapids, Minnesota and by 1905 they would be in International Falls, Minnesota. Amarilla could have gone with them but she chose to stay in Pine River and she would continue to do so till her death in 1942. Grace and Amarilla kept in touch over the years for Amarilla was to become a grandmother 6 times over.

About December of 1899 Andy Hayford was released from custody regarding the murder of George A. Barclay. There is not much information about Andy Hayford, who he was and where he was from. The 1900 U.S. Census has an Andy Hayford living in Crow Wing Co. who is married with two children born about 1866 in Wisconsin. Whether, this is the same Hayford is unclear, but it is interesting.

Here is a photo of St. Paul about 1908 which is a little later than our subject but it gives you an idea of what the city was like.

St. Paul, Minnesota, Ramsey County about 1908

Here is a summary of: In the Matter of the State of Minnesota vs. Andrew Hayford, Indicted for Murder in the 1st Degree.

That we Andy Hayford as principal and Con O’Brien and J.W. Koop as sureties of the County of Crow Wing – $1000 dollars. The Condition of the Above Obligation is Such, that is the above bounden Andy Hayford shall personally be and appear before the District Court of the County of Cass 1st day of the term at the Court House in Walker on the 7th of May [1900] to answer to the indictment of the Grand Jury on 9th of May, 1899 etc. Witness Our hands this 29th day of November 1899 and signed by Andy Hayford and others.

What follows is from the 15th Judicial District Court, State of Minnesota, County of Cass.

State of Minnesota, Plaintiff vs. Andrew Hayford, defendant

Application having been made to this Court, for an order admitting the defendant Andrew Hayford, alias Andy Hayford, to bail and fixing the amount of bail bond, for defendant’s appearance at the next general terms of District Court to be held at the Village of Walker, Cass County, Minnesota. Messrs. Jones and Peterson appearing for defendant in support of said application, and after due consideration, an order was made, dated November 25th, 1899, whereby said defendant was admitted to bail on approval of his bond by this Court, said bond for his said appearance being fixed at the sum of One Thousand dollars, with two sureties; and a bond as prescribed by said order having this day been duly approved by this Court and filed with the Clerk of District Court of said Cass County. IT IS ORDERED, that said defendant, Andrew Hayford alias Andy Hayford be discharged from your custody. Dated December 1st, 1899. By the Court. [ Holland] Judge. To the Sheriff of Ramsey County, St. Paul, Minn.

The Sheriff of Ramsey County writes:

State of Minnesota, County of Ramsey, I hereby Certify and return that by Virture of the hereto attached order of the Honorable G. W. Holland Judge of the District Court in and for the County of Cass in the State of Minnesota, I have this day released from Custody Andrew Hayford Alias Andy Hayford. [J. Noll, Agent] Sheriff of Ramsey County, Minnesota. Dated at St. Paul this 5th day of December 1899.

There are no other court documents except these since May 1899 when the Grand Jury convened that explain what happened and why Hayford was released.

I am also puzzled as to why the defendants were in the jail in Ramsey County. I suppose that Pine River was too small to have a jail and Walker was recently designated the County seat of Cass and maybe had not built a proper jail. Brainerd probably did have a jail but according to this website from the Crow Wing County Historical Society it was pretty small. To find the 2nd jail information and a picture you will have to scroll a long time or use your “Find” and the term “City Jail.”

Something must have happened between November 1898 and May 1899 that set in motion the convening of a Grand Jury regarding the murder of George A. Barclay.

The jail registers for Cass County, Minnesota show that Louis Bebo and Joseph DeJerrold were there in the month ending January-February, 1899 time frame. They were only there from February 14, 1899 to February 23, 1899. As far as I can tell there is no paper trail for this incarceration other than the jail register. So who ordered this and how it came about is unclear.

On May 9, 1899 Andrew Hayford and Louis Bebo were indicted for murder in the 1st Degree and a Bench Warrant was issued 10 May 1899. G. Hardy, the Sheriff was ordered to deliver them to the jail at Brainerd, Crow Wing County. In the Cass County District Court Records of 12 May, 1899, is an entry about this bench warrant and the indictment for murder.

Grand Jury

The Grand Jury came together in June of 1899. The case was called at the Collins Precinct, Cass County, June 16, 1899 at 10 am. B.F. Hartshorn appeared for the prosecution.

Here is a summary of the purpose of a Grand Jury, but I don’t know if this is exactly what it was like in 1899 in Minnesota.

A Grand Jury works with a prosecutor to determine if charges are to be brought against a potential defendant. Grand Juries are made up of up to 23 people and it can go on for months. There are no judges only the prosecutor who explains the law and works with the jury to gather evidence and hear testimony…They need a super majority of 2/3 or 3/4 agreement. Even if the grand jury does not indict the prosecutor can bring the defendant to trial if there is a strong case. They have to prove to the trial judge that they have a case. If they have an indictment they can go right to trial. (See Findlaw for more information).

There were objections made by the defendants mostly about the warrant not being read and these were overruled.

These are the names on the Indictment for murder written on 9 May, 1899.

Here are summaries of what was in the testimonies and you will see that not all of them are included.

1. C. Fred Yllander was up first.

Yllander gave testimony at the corner’s inquest in November 1899. He worked for Barclay as the store clerk and bar keeper.

“I being present at the time about six feet from him. I stood looking over the bar with my face toward him, I looked up when I heard the report of the gun. I saw him try to raise, but he could not and fell, at this I went out side of the bar to assist him I saw he was bleeding. I went to summon other aid, when I came back I found the bullet had entered the neck of the left side and came through on the other side. He died in about thirty minutes.

Apparently there was a plat map (Plat A) which described the scene inside the house. Yllander recognized it. This drawing was not in the court documents.

The best that can be gleaned from the description is that the scene was in the southwest corner of the house which faces southwest. There is the bar room. There are two large windows a dood (indicating stairs). There was a notation where the post was located. Yllander says that Barclay was sitting east of the door smoking a cigar with one foot under him.

The bullet went through Mar Barclay’s neck and lodged in the post in the center of the room, the bullet went in a direct line so as to enter the post after passing through Mr. Barclay’s neck.

Yllander describes that there was a small round hole in the window east of the door about 5 or 6 inches from the lower corner next to the door in the large front window. There is a court 8 feet wide in the front and southwest corner of the house.

Yllander refers to Coyle as a defendant. There is no record of Coyle being served a bench warrant for this crime. He did get put in the Crow Wing jail about the same time as Bebo and DeJerrold for stealing whiskey from Mrs. Barclay.

Interesting that there were 25 to 30 people after the train came in. Pine River was a busy place.

2. E. F. Lynch undertaker D.M. Clark & Co.,

Mr. Lynch states that he resides in Brainerd. I am supposed to be an experienced hand at the business. I had a State License. I was called upon to prepare the body of Mr. Barclay for burial. I went there Monday morning about 6 A.M…after he was shot. I had to sew up the wound in order to keep fluid from escaping. I would take the wound to be a gun shot entering from the right side about four inches below the right ear and coming out about one inch below the left ear. I don’t think the neck was dislocated. I don’t think the bone was struck. I consider he bled to death. There was no blood coming out of the mouth. He mentions that Coyle helped him with opening getting the casket from the depot.

There seems to a slight difference in the description of the trajectory of the bullet. Yllander said left side to right, Lynch said right to left.

3. Mrs. George Barclay, wife of the deceased.

I was in the kitchen at the time he was killed. I heard the report of the gun…I went into the room. The report of the gun pulled me to the room, I saw Mr. Barclay lying on the floor. I don’t think he was dead at the time, but he died on the floor before being removed. I had not been in the room before that evening….

She goes on to state she knew various people like Bebo, DeJerrald, Coyle and Clapp. There were incidents of intoxication, threats, words exchange but nothing that she felt was of concern.

4. Joseph DeJerrald states pretty much the same as what he did at the coroner’s inquest. He is a nephew of Bebo and had been living with them for the last three years which later he says four years. Bebo lives 4 miles from Pine River. His testimony wanders so much that it makes it hard to follow him.

He states that he was going to the depot at the time of Barclay’s killing. They then went to unhitch the horses at the corn crib, Bebo took his rifle to the depot and they put the team in the old barn and got feed for the horses. As he was putting his gun in the depot someone came in and said Barclay was shot. He references his time in jail with Bebo back in February and mentions his uncle is now in jail in St. Paul.

5. Ed Harris was a new witness. He lived in Walker and he talks about Clapp, Bebo and blurts out that the Indian’s did it and murdered Barclay.

6. George L. Hardy, Sheriff of Cass County. Frank Breese Deputy Sheriff from Cass County testified at the coroner’s inquest.

I know of the death of Mr. Barclay. I am Sheriff of Cass County. I was at the inquest. I subpoenaed witnesses. I made examination of the premises. I have seen this drawing before. I and Mr. Middleton made these drawings. This is a plan of the Hotel, Saloon and store. I saw the hole in the window.

I have the bullet in my possession. It weighed 210 grains when taken from the post. It corresponded with a bullet from a 38-56. I examined Bebow’s gun, it was a 38-56 Winchester. I got some of the bullets he used in his gun. The 38-56 factory made bullets weigh 255 or 256 grains. This bullet when it came from the post was badly battered up on the front end and along the side. The butt end was not battered.

Mr. Hardy believed the bullet from the post was similar to Bebo’s bullets. From this point Mr. Hardy meanders around about his conversations with Clapp and Coyle at the inquest, in February and others. There is nothing about what happened at the time of the shooting at the actual scene of the murder.

7. J. G. Dawes is a witness.

I am not a detective. I am manager of the Barclay estate with view of taking the daughter’s interest. I have been there since about the middle of February. I was in the employ of the North Dakota Milling Association… I sold them a car of feed and remained there over night…

Apparently J.G. Dawes went to St. Paul May 10th and talked in private to Bebo. From his visit he took on the role of assisting Bebo with his earthly possession which were to be distributed among his children. Dawes say that Bebo implicated Clapp and Coyle as being the means of killing Mr. Barclay…that Clapp and Coyle were the principal men that caused the killing of Mr. Barclay. Bebo denied he killed Barclay.Dawes finished with we had possibly an hours conversation but nothing else bearing on the matter.

The court adjourned:

Apparently the court was adjourned until Monday morning, June 19th, 1899. State rests and the defendants move to dismiss the defendants on the ground, that form the evidence no public cause has been show that defendants or either of them committed the crime charged or any other crime.

I am frustrated because I can’t figure out if Clapp or Coyle were ever arrested for this crime. There is no examination of Andrew Hayford nor of Bebo at this Grand Jury and I am not even sure they were present.

The above are of course extremely stripped versions of the testimonies of these witnesses.

J.G. Dawes first appeared in Pine River around the end of 1898 or early 1899. He was a flour salesman and had come to Pine River to make a deal with George Barclay.

Jefferson G. Dawes would make a big impact on Pine River. At the request of Grace, George’s daughter, he was going to be involved in the Grand Jury proceedings for George’s death. He would be the major of Pine River and he would marry Amarilla.

J.G. was born on 7 March 1847 in New York. Tracking him from that date to 1898 reveals nothing in the Minnesota census nor the U.S. Federal. Single men are hard to trace. His parents were James Daws and Mary Ann [Sooderhaus]. I will share more about J.G. in a future post.

Looking at his photograph, I think that J.G. must have been the kind of person that you would notice.

The coroner’s inquest and the testimonies of the witness imply that George disinherited Grace, his daughter, but that was not true. He threatened to but never really did. George was not happy about her marriage. They did have words but according to Grace they reconciled before his death. It turns out he didn’t have a will. His estate was “intestate.”

Amarilla was appointed the Administrator of George’s estate. She had not wasted anytime in getting the probate process started.

The beginning stages of the probate process for the estate of George A. Barclay takes place at the end of 1898 in Cass County, Walker, Minnesota.

1. Application of petition of the Estate of George A. Barclay by Amarilla on November 1, 1898 . The personal property of said deceased does not exceed $5,000. She is appointed Special Administrator with a bond of $8,000.

2. Order for Hearing and Notice of Application for Appointment of Administrator – November 7, 1898: Appearance before the court on 8 Dec 1898 at 10 o’clock at Walker. In addition an order to publish once a week for three weeks in the Walker Pilot is included as required by law.

3. #1065 Order Appointing Administrator – December 8, 1898 – Amarilla is appointed on the petition of E.R. Sundberg. The bond was $15,000.

$1000 reward for information.

“Gov. Glough has offered a reward of $1,000 for the apprehension of the murderer of Geo. A. Barclay who was shot through a window and killed in his hotel at Pine River on the night of Oct. 29. Every effort has been made to detect the perpetrator of the deed, but not the slightest clue has yet been found.”

From the Brainerd Tribune, Nov. 12, 1898

This $1000 is a substantial award for 1898 in terms of dollars and would be worth $27,777.78 in today’s dollars.

I was curious about Governor Clough and found this at Wikipedia where they have a portrait of the man. How does one get a governor to offer such a reward and why?

The Minnesota Historical Society has an Inventory of his Gubernatorial Records but unfortunately the description does not include anything like offering rewards for information. It does mention several cases that took place but not G. A. Barclay.

George Angus Barclay is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Brainerd, Minnesota. There are several stones in this plot. The very tall one to the left is George’s monument, the small one on the right is the son’s, George Alexander’s, tombstone and the one in front of the large monument is George’s Civil War stone. The shiny flat stone in the foreground is Amarilla’s.

George and Amarilla’s first grandchild is also buried in this plot. R.S. McDonald is listed as the father. There is no stone for this baby but it is noted in the cemetery records.

Evergreen has placed their Directory of the dead online and you can click on the ? mark and go to Find A Grave for this cemetery and there is some very interesting links at Find A Grave. They are misspellings as well so be careful.

Warren Huffman had kind words for my great grandfather and stated in his own words in the 1973 Pine River Journal:

“The first winter was a hard one for new settlers to get started. George Barclay had the one store in Pine River and without the credit that he extended it would have been impossible to stay. George Barclay had his detractors, but he was a kind-hearted man and generous. He was a small man with a high-pitched voice. I remember him well, and we all felt a genuine sorrow and loss when he was shot by an unknown person as he sat reading in the lobby of the Barclay Hotel.” By Warren Huffman in his own words “As I remember … 1894, Pine River Journal (Newspaper), Cass County, MN. 1973.

Amarilla is also buried there and upon my first visit she did not have a tombstone. There is one there now. More on her death in future posts.

George’s Tombstone and his great-granddaughter 2001

George A. Barclay, son George Alexander and Bonnie 2001.

This is probably where the funeral ceremony for George A. Barclay took place. I can picture Amarilla, Grace, R.S. McDonald and Alexander gathered there by the grave. How did they bring the casket in an open wagon or in a funeral wagon? Who else was there? Did the G.A.R. perform a military ceremony for this Civil War veteran? So many questions…

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Things to Ponder

The Header Photo is San Francisco in 1999 when I visited there for about the 3rd time. I did not realize that my Barclay family was so involved with this city. Unfortunately the colors have gotten muted.

KELLER DESCENDANTS of John and Mary (Delano) Keller. Over the past year of 2014 and currently in 2015 I have been posting about the descendants of John and Mary on my Solomon Goss of Fearing Twp., In Ohio blog (see the link below). The Surnames are: Keller, Delano, Spracklin, Evertts, Helt, Pearl, WIntermute, Barr, Van Houten, Carson, Shaffer, Kees, Lacy, Riblet and much more. Cousins are sharing on that Solomon Goss Blog. More information has come to light about these families.

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Going to take the Scottish Class.

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